Articulated Camera Arm on Wheels (no more Tripod!) (Plans available)

[@clsadil]

This must be the most overkill dslr tripod ever! Great design, build, editing and story telling. Keep up the great work.

[@dennisyoung4631]

Sounds like he wants it to work *good.*

[@TheDaniels5s]

what about this one ? :P kzbin.info/www/bejne/jGrIao2Nm9F2h7c

[@glennreynolds962]

I do not know what I am more impressed with. The engineering, the craftmanship or the photography. Excellent work!

[@scottmartin7717]

"if it's stupid and it works then it's not stupid" Amen

[@romoalex]

yes we caught this

[@GiacoWhatever]

I NEED THIS

[@PhilVandelay]

Can confirm, you need this

[@BigLousWorkshop]

Giaco I think we ALL need this!! HAHAH

[@BurtonsAttic]

Ditto!

[@imdavemtz]

You’re a great builder @giaco hope you build it I also need these is a great solution

[@dennisyoung4631]

Me too, and not just “cameras/phones/tablets”

[@Lizzzzzzy921]

This channel is so underrated it is criminal

[@tonylarose4842]

That's sick! I've seen plenty of people just end up making versions that clamp to different places but that round tripod stand that wont fall is great!

[@c.harris7823]

I definitely enjoy the voiceover commentary. It provides great perspective of what you were thinking during the build... especially with the more technical aspects.

[@tomsdreamshopworx]

Really nice stand. I'm so happy you didn't weld the casters on.

[@PhilVandelay]

Haha, I admit I've done that before out of lazyness. But on this floor casters don't last long, so...

[@ericsander4257]

I just love your monotone commantary and the enthusiasm for over engineering

[@MatthewEncina]

Wow the mechanics of this are great! Thanks for sharing the process.

[@mikehayes5919]

I just love the idea of using cable stays to brace the upright. That's inspired!

[@ddssrr1614]

Dude this is so well crafted & though out. Quality is top notch.

[@dr.bijuvarghese6805]

Appreciate the efforts taken by you. You have both skill and will to do something for your own self. Your interest in teaching others the process is a blessing to others. Thanks.

[@MrExel47]

This thing is awesome! I though about the lamp mechanism as well and didn't really find something sturdy enough. And you just made it!

[@pawz007]

Great work. All those techniques you use that some people might say are "wasteful" or "dangerous" or "incorrect" (like the chuck in chuck setup) are outside-the-box thinking and I support it. They are your tools, use them however you want to make whatever you want. If someone tries to knock you for "improper" use, they are just jealous of your good ideas.

[@WrenagadeWorkshop]

That is an awesome stand, thank you so much for sharing :) By the way, one of the best vibration dampening tricks for hollow tube is to fill it with sand. You may need to compensate for the weight of the sand by adding another base plate but that thing would be absolutely solid.

[@GatoLand]

A really impressive design, I really liked the modification of the base, in fact it is now much more stable and secure. I enjoyed watching the video, very well done. A cordial greeting from Spain.

[@lv_woodturner3899]

Very well done. I love the design. I appreciate seeing the process and details which worked or did not work. I also have iterations in my designs. I do not regret over designing something, but I often regret under designing. I do not think the collar and cables are overkill. They allow better adjustment than if you welded on pieces of round bar. Good idea for the 3 wheels so they always have contact if the floor is not even. The cable adjusters would be called turnbuckles in the US. Another good idea to allow adjustment if the cable stretches over time. Dave.

[@barrythompson8813]

Love the humour (and great fabrication techniques), This Old Tony would be proud ;-)

[@allenshumaker1903]

I really like the tripod great work! Only thing I see that I would add is to make another split ring to mount the battery. All your work is so neat and secure I think that would make an excellent addition. Thanks for your content.

[@TSGEnt]

Brilliant build!

[@tsetendorjee9040]

Thank you for sharing us !👍

[@Starman3539]

This is amazing engineering. I loved watching steel being worked to produce some very interesting designs. These, at the end, integrated to produce what is a very capable but complicated camera support. Some improvising was also necessary. However, this support is attractive and does the job (but it is a large tripod by any other name). It would be interesting to find out how much this tool interferes with your work. My final comment "Well done".

[@repalmore]

Your idea is a great one and think highly of it. One thing that is super simple that can improve tripod stability some (note, some) is hag a weight from it's center. Not as good as this but much easier and quicker. What I would call a field fix, not a permanent solution like this.

[@fryreartechnology7611]

5:25 a chuck in a chick lmao. I’m a machinist and I have done it too. End a endmill in the tailstock. Know it is wrong but you do what you got to do. Mine was a 6 jaw in 3 jaw. Need more bite and adjustment in a plastic part. Thank you for the video and taking me along on the build

[@PhilVandelay]

Actually I could see myself doing this even if I had the backplate... simply because it's so much faster than changing the whole chuck 😅

[@BravoCharleses]

@@PhilVandelay Re: A chuck in a chuck Tom Lipton frequently uses such a setup in his videos and I don't think anyone would accuse him of being anything less than a master machinist. He's been turning handles making spaceships and nuclear reactors since before most of us were born!

[@Gottenhimfella]

​@@PhilVandelay I have recently upsized (I've always wanted a bigger spindle bore than I had, now I've finally got one I can get my arm into, up to the shoulder) but it's a struggle, when working alone, to get my 310mm 3 jaw off the floor and onto the sled I've built for sliding it along the bed and onto the spindle nose. So I tend to leave it on and chuck a smaller chuck in it for 4 or 6 jaw work, or for small stuff where the big chuck jaws are too cumbersome. I do have to be careful though - on two occasions now a chuck has shifted on me. It would not be fun to have even a 250mm chuck chasing me round the shop....

[@BigLousWorkshop]

18:20 hey man... at least you fully acknowledge your own over engineering endeavors!! Great build man!

[@PhilVandelay]

I'm not gonna stop either, the next one will be even worse 😅

[@drhender6943]

You are an amazing engineer. I know the idea isn't new here, but your design and implementation is very nice. Just discovered you channel today-- I'm you newest subscriber. Thanks for taking the time to share your creations with is.

[@key2010]

my dad would've hated this video... he's a mechanical engineer with 35 years experience, the fact you drilled 4x the number of holes than you actually needed in those aluminum tubes and the fact you machined 100% more parts than needed and didn't use standardized bought parts (saves on man-hour cost) would drive him mad ... i can hear him saying "that thing has been designed by a welder" (translated from my mother language)

[@Lizzzzzzy921]

Well I don't see any damn-mechanical engineers teaching me how to make cool stuff so unless you make a better video I will consider you a worthless troll

[@OlivierVerdier]

Great build thanks

[@funrover90]

Bought the plans, they look great. Ordered most of the materials (I’m mounting from a ceiling instead). Where did you buy your springs? I am having trouble finding those size extension/expansion or tension springs.

[@PhilVandelay]

Hi, I usually buy that kind of stuff on eBay, it's a good resource for special items you can't find in normal stores. Does take a bit of searching but at least here in Germany you can find almost anything on there. I doubt I would have found those springs in any normal stores.. But just as a tip, you can also combine multiple shorter springs into a long one, as I said in the vid it takes a bit of playing around to figure out the right tension

[@YourOldDog]

Great workmanship both on project and shooting/editing. Thanks for your time to do this.

[@carlosarturote]

BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL AND GREAT PROJECT, THOUSAND FRIENDS CONGRATULATIONS

[@ЭтоДрючинский]

With such approach your channel deserves much more subscribers!

[@MohsinAliWaheed]

That moment when your tripod is expensive than your Camera.

[@Lalaland.001]

I actually think the raw materials excluding your own labor costs would add up to not even $80 total...aluminum/steel square and round stock pipes are really cheap as is raw steel plate and simple aluminum plate stock. I think the castor wheel are the most expensive rolling in at $15-18 each. Just google simple aluminum steel stock pipes and you'll see...You could make this entire build without any welder...Just bolted together...and that would be it. The more you know...

[@M_Northstar]

@@Lalaland.001 I think he was talking about the commercial solutions that Phil decided to forego.

[@dangoesfast]

I think you accidentally a word

[@Patrick.Richard]

Genius !!! you can definitely make bunch of this and sell it world wide

[@lukehill6395]

you are right, i can't argue with the results, but the chuck in the chuck had my cheeks clenched the entire time.

[@Cactusworkshopchannel]

man this was amazing. congrats :D

[@JulianMakes]

very nice solution, i've resorted to using a rode microphone arm very similar to your lamps. also above my desk and other area in the office i have 40mm pipe runing in the ceiling and i use lighting gantry clamps to hold lights/mics etc. I love the portability of yours. great job thanks

[@JisunsKitchen]

This is so incredibly inspiring! It looks like it would be a dream to use.

[@wyohman00]

I love the plans and the over-engineering. Keep it up!

[@garybrown9719]

You can also use it for a nice light stand

[@bmay8818]

Wow, nice design! I too am surprised that the tensioned wires work that well. I see you also have one of those Makita Battery-to-USB port things. I use one for my phone and took another apart to have a Makita battery connector for a project. Anyway, that's a sweet setup you've got now!

[@PhilVandelay]

Yeah these things are great, they can power a camera for hours and most people have a few drill batteries sitting in their shop unused anyway. And they charge super fast!

[@Steve_Just_Steve]

Can't imagine why it wouldn't work considering that's how they hold radio antennas up.

[@joell439]

Brilliant!!! (Phil, i haven't seen you do anything 'stupid'.) Thanks for taking us along. 👍😊👍

[@carstendieterle1595]

Suuuuper! Hab' gerade Dein Cargo Bike nachgebaut. Scheint nun nicht langweilig zu werden :-) weiter so!

[@williamjames1171]

People are so nice in your comment section! Also really enjoy your videos :)

[@jenky1044]

Excellent build and design. Great job.

[@barthanes1]

Unnecessary complication is a common engineering tendency. Nice work.

[@Totalis1989]

This is brilliant to see, I have been trying to develop something like this for a while and this has given me inspiration to carry on. Thank you

[@БелыеЖуравли]

Have a nice day. How your new milling machine is, which model? Tell or show what changes you made to him.

[@БелыеЖуравли]

Found his name in the prerepisk from Instagram.

[@wawandharmawan2441]

Very nice, I like it. Can reach far enough but still balanced without falling.

[@DanielH]

I would love to see some cinematic shots made with that arm.

[@VOTECHGURU]

GREAT animation of the parts. What software do you use for that?

[@RickRose]

Cool build! I'm interested in the battery pack for your camera. Looks like you've got a power-tool battery tapped to feed the camera. Is that correct?

[@PhilVandelay]

Yeah it just runs off an adapter that gives you two USB slots from the battery pack, you can get these for all the large brands like Makita, DeWalt etc. and then it's an additional adapter that goes into the camera instead of the camera battery and converts that to USB. Can be found on amazon for most camera models. Then you just connect the two and voila. Works great for me, I can get a few full days of shooting out of a 5A Makita battery, much less hassle than charging the small batteries

[@GinoRaimondi]

Good job! Love your work and videos. Do you think that a shorter version of that arm could support a laptop or a monitor? I want to modify my desk since i saw yours and make an arm

[@carlomonsen]

Awesome! You're not the only one overengineering things, but at least you have excellent solutions!

[@JJ79_]

I hate those cheap aluminium tripods too, but there is serious tripods too like gitzo, i love those.

[@jimsvideos7201]

Thank you for both the video and the inspiration; all of this is RTMI.

[@theestategalleryllctegauct3901]

Very nice but you are correct the weld joint at the washer cable junction is a weak point. I attach all kinds of eyelets and endings to thick and thin cable with some custom crimp blocks I made for my hydraulic shop press (also homemade) I hoist 750 to about 1500 lbs often and never had one let go yet!

[@PhilVandelay]

Yes I definitely wouldn't recommend this method to hang anything off it that has considerable weight, but for just keeping this pole upright it's worked fine so far. Good tip using the press for crimping

[@arnljotseem8794]

Very cool build. I wonder why your channel hasn't shown up in my suggested videos before now. Glad it did. Subscribed!

[@arnljotseem8794]

By the way, Have you seen Robin Renzettis (robrenz) carbon fiber tube and steel ball camera arm. Pretty cool, and super light weight.

[@PhilVandelay]

The KZbin Algorythm doesn't like me much recently, so I almost don't show up in suggested videos at all. Glad you found it anyway!

[@PhilVandelay]

@@arnljotseem8794 Yeah I came across that when doing some research. Beautiful design, I'm not sure how much weight it could support though without the joints slipping (he uses a fairly light camera). DSLR setups get heavy quick when you don't use the cheap plastic lenses. As you saw in the video it's easy to underestimate that ;)

[@arnljotseem8794]

@@PhilVandelay Yeah, the bleeding algorithms. They are controlling our lives soon. Just wait for real AI to kick in..... we're doomed

[@DmytroLuhanskyi]

Dude, this was very impressive. You are a genius.

[@Hunanyan]

Are you filming the welding process through auto-darkening helmet?

[@CraigsWorkshop]

Re: four jaw in a three jaw. You have to dial it in anyway, so really - if you don't need the between-centres distance - it's a good idea and saves having to have/make a backplate. Also quicker than changing chucks on many lathes. Not as rigid, but doesn't matter for that particular job.

[@jt9498]

Brilliant solution! You should patent this idea and sell them!

[@saravana009bb]

Aren’t you considering materials while machining them? In this arm, what type of material did you chose for making the steel ring which supports the steel cables? I’m Wondering about the type of steel in detail

[@PhilVandelay]

That's just mild steel, probably S235JR since it's the most common/cheapest here.I rarely use anything else unless it's required, but for this thing it really doesn't matter

[@Kemagic]

Genius personified.

[@DavidM2002]

Well done. I would have used Nyloc nuts where you need to adjust the friction. Even with the spring washers the nuts may work loose(r).

[@mam1627]

Very nice work!

[@BurtonsAttic]

Great design Phil! Should make shot setup way faster!

[@detalheautentico]

Hi Phil, great video, do you think it is possible to build an adjustable desk using the same system thet you used ? The porpuse would be that the desk could lift to become a standing desk but also to put it at an sitting height.

[@PhilVandelay]

i think if you built an extremely beefy version of this it might work, but if the only thing you want to do is change the height of the desk, this mechanism is probably overkill/too complex. There's much simpler ways of doing that if you only need to move it on one axis

[@pnm540]

really nice work - love to watch it

[@TrailBoundco]

How much will you sell onefor

[@pierdolio]

In the interest of stability, please consider changing the base from 3 arms to 5 arms. In my experience with plant stands the 3 arm base, though seemingly stable on uneven surfaces, was very prone to tipping with any breeze (outdoors). I then tried 4 arms and that did not solve the problem either. I finally tried 5 arms, and though much more difficult to construct, this proved to be very stable in addition to offering the 3 arm advantage of being stable on uneven surfaces. I really like how you solve the problems with maximum complexity. Kind of my style. It gives me great satisfaction.

[@PhilVandelay]

Good point, I hadn't even considered using more than four legs but I now that I think about it, it works pretty well on desk chairs

[@Stubones999]

Good job on the camera arm! The base weight should have been over the wheels, since weight at the center has little effect. As far as the springs go, if you had made a sliding spring hanger for one end of each spring, you could adjust the spring tension based on whatever camera rig you install. Thes spring hanger should clamp on the tube with a peg to hold springs on each side, with a clamping bolt on the top or bottom.

[@handmadeisbetter]

I would love to see another cargo bike build of you! Mich juckts ja immer noch in den Fingern dein diy longjohn nachzubauen! 🥰

[@PhilVandelay]

Es sind auf jeden Fall weitere Cargos in Planung! Aber zwischendurch muss immer mal die Werkstatt verbessert werden...

[@danielngho]

Great Rig! Just a though... if you have a shop that you don't really move to far. you can do it overhead too

[@ned_mograph5957]

top tier humor, amazing video

[@anti-classist]

Out of curiosity would you allow someone to just buy one... I don't need the middle part, just the extension arm so I can connect it to 2 super clamps and connect it to a C-stand (I want to be able to take it places).

[@trigger-happybowman6505]

I'm so going to mount this to my creeper to hold a flashlight under the truck...

[@plunder1956]

Have you considered magnetic mountings, often used on machine tools. You may have one handy. I wish I still had access to a Bridgeport Mill. flimsy crap tripods are hopeless. A substantial, wide dolly mounted tripod helps. I have used a telescopic pole stand with rolling base, for bigger Broadcast video cameras. A pivoting parallel motion arm on dolly is nice, if you have the space. Consider Manfrotto wall mounted arms for lights or a fixed camera (like a Go-Pro) for wide shots. mixed with longer "detail" shots.

[@GT0NY]

Nice! Btw what kind of welder are you using?

[@TomMakeHere]

Good work. Way better than my setup I used a microphone suspension arm, but it's too bouncy. I might copy your design somewhat :) Thanks for sharing

[@TheTranq]

Wow man that was awesome. Great work

[@dyermker250]

Methodical genius.

[@mkrbrkr]

I love the chuck-on-chuck action! Why didn't I think of this? thanks!

[@joshmdmd]

I've had some employees refuse to chuck a chuck.

[@Gottenhimfella]

It's quite often done on big lathes, in industry, but only for taking light cuts. It's a big job changing a big chuck, and if what you need is a smaller chuck for one operation, then it makes sense to avoid two heavy lift operations (involving a crane or a fork hoist). One advantage if that you can dial out nutation (where the lathe spindle axis is at a slight angle to the desired axis of workpiece rotation) as well as the more easily corrected situation of simple offset (where the axes are parallel but not coincident).

[@valeriytretyakov880]

Super Nice , now i know, download and order.

[@brotschuh]

this is awesome. I was thinking about a similar rig that I can mount on my ceiling because I dont have space for a tripod in my shed.

[@Rubbernecker]

What an amazing project! Impeccably done, thank you for sharing!!

[@Peppe_Bas]

Nice job!

[@tubeman1983]

Awesome! Great skills! Is it smooth enough to make camera movements though? Is there such an articulated camera arm on the market? Cheers! :)

[@DrVektor]

I loved your channel. Something engineering 🙂

[@bearsrodshop7067]

Before watching and subscribing, I was on same path with an old desk top lamp in hand to make an adjustable arm to film lathe & milling,,,This is an awesome and practical solutions to video shooting at any location.. Thx, and excellent camera footage and machining tips,,Bear in TX,,,PS Its 2am,,but had to watch to the end,,(@@)!

[@UdiIsReal]

The "Why? Because i can!" Man is here Great vids man, keep up the good work, you are quite entertaining!

[@NicosProjects]

I think I need it for my workshop :-)

[@eddietowers5595]

Awesome build! Also, there’s no such thing as over engineering, just a guarantee of doing something right the first time. Like duct tape, Leatherman, and WD-40. All the tools a man needs to McGuyver his way out of anything. Specially tripods.🤣👍

[@TheKenny86ng]

you just created a mobile articulating mini jib.. better than norma jib, well done!!!

[@tristindalton4238]

thats awesome. i really enjoyed this. AND you offer the plans! sweeet

[@po9569]

Could you try make 360 rotating 3-4kg camera rig?

[@SrFlanagan]

Epic tripod and great job

[@kmuralikrishna1582]

Really appreciate dude, but plan available means it seems commercial ...?

[@SianaGearz]

Have you noticed that tripods have a hook under the post? It's there for a reason, so you can sandbag it. At least they should have a hook, or a provision to drop a flat training weight across the base. Yours... seem not to? That being said any sort of flying articulating arm as long as it's strong enough and you have an attachment point, that's just straight up better, we can all drink to that. So yeah an alternative is to just skip the tripod/rolling base and foresee attachment points in your lab. Other useful things that come to mind are RODE PSA1 and PSA1+. The long Manfrotto Friction Arm maybe? But it's got issues as well. Really the only reason tripods exist is so you can grab one and take it with you.

[@PhilVandelay]

Yeah I put weights on the hook for a while actually but I found the effect is limited, you can still knock them over if you bump into it enough. But the bigger problem is just the floor space tripods take up, after using the camera arm for a few years I can say it's one of the most helpful things I ever built. I can't say it's ever annoyed me, it rarely gets in the way and still works like a charm, definitely has never fallen over either. There are some pro camera stands that could mostly do the same job, but they cost thousands and the shop environment would probably be rough on them. considering the cost and that they're made to be used in clean studios, I don't think it's the best thing to use in a workshop (this goes for any camera equipment really).